If you’re more than 16 years old — and let’s face it, dear reader, you probably are (we know our demographic here at Popdose!), continue reading only if you have a teenage daughter or “niece” that you need to shop for. Right out of the box, I mistakenly thought that the Summer Set was the bastard child of some unholy union between Rick Springfield (one of my guiltiest of guilty pleasures) and Blink-182 (not so much). In reality, however, the real touchstone for this young Arizona band is, for better or worse, the Jonas Brothers.
I don’t profess to know much about what is described as the “pop-punk” genre. I think it would be more accurately described as the “music that young girls like” genre, but that’s outside of my purview. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Love Like This (Razor & Tie). The guitars are bright, the drums are dance-y, and the music is slickly produced by Matt Grabe. The songs are upbeat, sunny, trite, and utterly without meaning, at least to someone outside of the band’s demo, which I most assuredly am. Oh, and one more thing about those songs, they all sound exactly the same. Here’s a little something called “Passenger Seat” which is perfectly representative of the album. Thankfully, at about 36 minutes, it’s not like you have to devote a big part of your life to it. Once again, I’m not an authority, but I’d say that if the band scores high in the all-important visual sweepstakes (can’t really tell from the photo I have), you’re as likely as not to see them on the next Nickolodeon Teen Choice Awards.
In short, I am not the right guy to review this album if you’re looking for some positive press from which to capture a blurb for your next release. Wait a minute — I did say “there’s nothing inherently wrong with Love Like This.” Maybe they can use that.
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